In 2008, Bryshon Nellum was shot 3 times in the leg. Just 4 years later, he has overcome that tragedy to run for his country in the 2012 London Olympics.

Until two years ago I was not a person to talk to about cross-training. I’m a runner, and runners run. Period. But that’s not exactly true if you want to prolong your running career and maintain a well-rounded fitness program. Still, my conversion to cross-training believer didn’t come easily.

As a high school student I was a gymnast. Not satisfied specializing on one or two events, I competed in all of them. I loved gymnastics and believe it’s one of the best sports for developing overall fitness. Sadly, there’s only so much a middle aged body can take when it comes to gymnastics, and I’ve had some pretty serious injuries related to that sport so it’s not in my best interest to pursue it any further.

Over twenty years ago I had surgery on my neck to fuse discs damaged in a fall from the horizontal bar, and had to stop running for a year. During that time I tried swimming, another sport that can develop an overall strong, fit body if you can endure the monotony of swimming back and forth, over and over again, to get the workout that you need. I swam a lot of miles while waiting for the doctors okay to resume my running program. I also logged a lot of miles on my bicycle. I enjoyed that, but to elevate my heart rate to the level I was used to from running, I had to go really far, really fast. It was fun, but it never felt the same as running and I never felt like I was working as hard or efficiently as I wanted. Once I completed my year of healing from spinal fusion, I hit the roads hard.

Two years ago I had to have surgery on both of my feet. Not because of running too much, but because I have some bones in my feet that are too short and caused too much stress in all the wrong places. I now have five pieces of titanium in both feet. My feet work properly now but I still get sore if I overdo the running. One year ago I had to have my lower spine fused. Again, not because of too much running, but because I have degenerative disc disease. Not really a disease, this is something that’s very common and affects different people in different ways and most of us will feel its effects in one way or another as we age. I now have six pieces of titanium in my back. All of this brings me back to the original point: I need to cross-train if I want to continue running.

An article toward the back of Runner’s World magazine last year led me to a contraption called “ElliptiGO”. Picture an elliptical trainer on wheels and you’re on the right track. Described as an elliptical bicycle, the ElliptiGO has two wheels and handle bars with hand brakes like a bike, but no seat. Your feet sit in trays and your legs move in an elliptical motion while you stand upright. This upright position produces more wind resistance than a bike and provides an excellent workout! The motion is as close to running as you can get without actually running, and the pounding on the body is nonexistent. If you can’t handle stares from curious onlookers, the ElliptiGO isn’t for you. But if you want a great workout very similar to running without the pounding, give one a try. Check out www.elliptigo.com or stop in at a HealthStyles Exercise Equipment near you for more information. I promise it’ll put a smile on your face and some sweat on your brow.

Tom Riggs
Fort Collins Coloroadoan

HealthStyles Exercise Equipment carries the full selection of ElliptiGO bikes. Complete specifications and additional videos, images, and reviews are online here:

ElliptiGO 11R Outdoor Elliptical Bike

ElliptiGO 8C Outdoor Elliptical Bike

ElliptiGO 3C Outdoor Elliptical Bike

Shin splints cause a radiating pain in the front lower leg and often make an appearance among new walkers and runners who exercise on hard surfaces that offer no shock absorption. The underlying cause of shin splints is weakness in the lower leg muscle, an area known as the tibialis anterior. Follow these tips from Life Fitness to avoid a constant battle with shin splints and learn ways to cope with them appropriately.

Short-Term Solutions

• Take your walking / running routine to a softer surface, which will reduce the shock that travels through the legs. Try exercising on a treadmill, grass or sand.
• Consider purchasing orthotic shoe inserts at a local drugstore. If your shin splits are extreme, it may be helpful to visit a podiatrist for prescribed custom inserts.
• Pace yourself! Increase your mileage gradually. Walking or sprinting an instant 5k after a winter-long hibernation will leave your muscles overworked.
• Alternate your exercise regimen by cross-training, which offers variety and can help relieve overall muscle stress.
• Don’t forget that stretching is one of the most underrated forms of therapy and relief. Make it part of your daily routine, and your shins will thank you.

Long-Term Solutions

• Try walking on your heels. Walk across the room two or three times at first and slowly build up to repetitions.
• While standing or sitting, lift your foot slightly off of the ground and draw the alphabet with your toes. Repeat on the other side.
• Flex and point the toes any time you’re sitting. Try making this a daily routine.
• It’s great to be enthusiastic about starting an intense fitness routine, but respecting your muscles will allow you to suffer less shin splints and meet your goals faster.

Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, the leader in designing and manufacturing high-quality exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on Fit Tips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.lifefitness.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lifefitness or join our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/lifefitness.

If you are struggling with trying to get into a regular workout routine, one of the key factors in staring a program and continuing, can be to have a goal to work toward. Research shows that specific and measurable goals are the most motivating. Finding a goal that will be motivating to you personally is the key. For many individuals, choosing an event to participate in can provide that motivation that they are looking for.

Running is a versatile activity that is has many health benefits. It’s one of the top activities for burning fat, helps prevent muscle and bone loss, reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer, and has many other specific physical benefits. In addition it boosts confidence and self esteem, reduces stress and has been proven to improve attitude and reduce depression. If you have not tried running as a regular activity in the past, or if you used to run regularly but stopped for some reason, this might be just the season for you to get back into a regular running routine.

Choosing a local event to compete in may be just the thing to get you motivated. With summer fast approaching, the upcoming weekends are full of running events in small towns and large cities throughout Colorado and beyond. A 5K (or 3.1) mile road or off road running event is a short enough event to train for in a relatively short period of time.

If you have never participated in a running event before, your goal may to “compete to complete”, whereas if you have done previous races, your goal might be to improve over your previous best 5K time. No matter what, the goal you set should be related to your personal ability and fitness level, and training for a specific event will help get you on a treadmill, or out on the road, on a regular training schedule.

The article below outlines a 6 week training schedule for recreational runners, written by Rick Morris from runningplanet.com and author of Treadmill Training for Runners. In it he outlines a 6 week training program designed to get you ready for a 5k event. My caution would be if you are have not been running on a regular basis, start slowly and work your way up! If you start out trying to do too much, you may feel overwhelmed, become discouraged, and give up. That’s what training is all about! When you work your way up gradually, you improve gradually over the course of your training, and are therefore able to increase your distance in a way that does not push you beyond what you are capable of at any given time.

I would also encourage you to sign up with a friend so that you can train together and compare notes on your progress. And when the day of your event arrives, make sure to have fun and reward yourself for your accomplishment!

5K Training Program for Recreational Runners

5K Training Program

This is a 6-week 5K training program that is designed to prepare a recreational runner for a local 5K race. Recreational runners usually do not follow a year round training program and may run only on weekends.

Before beginning this program, you should be able to run at least 2 miles without stopping. If you are not currently up to that level, slowly build up to running two miles without stopping before you start this program.

This 5K training program is general in nature. Feel free to make adjustments in order to accommodate scheduling conflicts and individual goals and rate of improvement.

The Workouts

This 5K training program contains easy runs, some hill workouts, some beginning speed workouts and rest days. It is designed to allow a recreational runner to compete in and comfortably finish a 5K race. The beginning speed workouts are an introduction to more intense training and will moderately improve your performance, speed and speed endurance.

Easy Runs

Easy runs should be run at a pace that feels fairly comfortable. You should be breathing hard, but should be able to carry on a conversation. If you are breathing so hard that you cannot talk, you are running too hard. If you can sing, you are running too easily.

Speed Workouts

The speed workouts in this program consist of short intervals that are performed at faster than your normal training speed. These are introductory level speed workouts and are designed to moderately improve your speed and performance in the 5K race. These workouts are based on your current 5K race time. If you have not completed a race or do not know your current 5K race time you have a couple of options. You can simply make your best guess on how fast you can run a 5K or you can perform a time trial. To do the time trial, go to a 400 meter track (most high school tracks are 400 meters) and run three 1600 meter repeats with one minute of rest between the three repeats. Run the repeats at a pace that you can maintain for the entire workout. You should run hard, but not so hard that you cannot complete the three workouts. Calculate your average pace per mile for the three repeats. Multiply this pace by 3.125. That will give you a fairly accurate estimate of your 5K race finishing time.

Hill Workouts

Hill workouts will help build strength and speed. These workouts are short, repeated runs up a hill of moderate grade.

Rest

Rest is a very important part of any training program. Without proper rest, your muscles and connective tissues will not have an opportunity to recover and strengthen properly. On the days calling for complete rest, do no strenuous activity. On the days calling for rest or cross training, you can rest totally or do some cross training. Cross training can be any activity other than running. You could go for a walk, swim, bicycle or do nothing. It is up to you.

Week 1

• Monday – Rest. Rest is an important part of any training program.
• Tuesday – Run 2 miles easy. Run at an easy “conversational” pace.
• Wednesday – Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging. Run 4 x Hill repeats. Run up a hill of moderate grade. Run at a pace that feels like 5K pace. Your pace will be slower, but will feel 5K pace because of the added difficulty of the hill. Run up the hill for about 100 meters. Jog down the hill and repeat.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train. Rest or engage in a non-running activity.
• Friday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Sunday – Run 2 miles easy.

Week 2

• Monday – Rest. This program uses Monday as a rest day, because Sunday is your longest run of the week. You can adjust this to meet your needs, but take off the day after your longest weekly run.
• Tuesday – Run 2.25 miles easy. You add a quarter mile to your previous longest run. You will make some additional increases later in the program.
• Wednesday – Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging. Run 4 x 800 meter repeats at around your goal 5K pace. Jog easily for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. You can do this workout on a track, on a trail or on a treadmill. You will have a more accurate measure of distance on the track or treadmill.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train.
• Friday – Run 2.25 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Sunday – Run 2.5 miles easy. You move up to 2.5 miles here. Try to keep your pace easy, but consistent.

Week 3

• Monday – Rest
• Tuesday – Run 2.5 miles easy.
• Wednesday – Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging. Run 6 x 400 meter repeats at 10 seconds per mile faster than your goal or current 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train.
• Friday – Run 2.5 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 2.5 miles easy.
• Sunday – Run 3 miles easy. You make another increase in mileage here. You are running almost a full 5K distance here. A 5K is 3.1 miles.

Week 4

• Monday – Rest
• Tuesday – Run 3 miles easy.
• Wednesday – Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging. Run 5 x 800 meter repeats at around your goal 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train.
• Friday – Run 3 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Sunday – Run 3 miles easy.

Week 5

• Monday – Rest
• Tuesday – Run 3 miles easy.
• Wednesday – Warm up and run 8 X 400 meter repeats at 10 seconds per mile faster than your goal 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train.
• Friday – Run 3 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Sunday – Run 3.5 miles easy. This is the final mileage increase in this program. You are now running .4 mile farther than the 5K distance. This will give you the endurance to easily complete the 5K race and will increase your confidence.

Week 6

• Monday – Rest
• Tuesday – Run 3 miles easy.
• Wednesday – Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging. Run 3 x 1600 meter repeats at 10 seconds per mile slower than your 5K pace. Cool down with 800 meters of easy jogging.
• Thursday – Rest or cross train.
• Friday – Run 2 miles easy.
• Saturday – Run 1 mile easy.
• Sunday – Race Day. Have Fun!!

If you completed the workouts in this program, you will be able to easily finish your 5K. You can repeat this program for other races, as long as you maintain the ability to run 2 miles non-stop. If you wish to improve your speed and performance, you should start following a specific year round training program. The beginning competitors program is the first step into a competitive year round program.

By Rick Morris – Running Coach, Author of Treadmill Training for Runners and editor of runningplanet.com.

By Rick Morris

There are as many different training plans as there are coaches. Every successful training program has a number of common rules. I have developed these twelve rules using over 20 years of coaching experience and many conversations with fellow coaches. Try to incorporate each of these rules into whatever program you follow and your results will improve.

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Thanksgiving is in just a few days and this Thanksgiving morning, as has been our tradition over the past 15 years or so, Dave and I will head to our local Turkey Trot before the big meal.

We live in a small town and it is definitely a local’s event. It’s held on "The Hill", our local 9 hole golf course. Each year we bundle up as much as is necessary depending on the weather, and head to the hill with our daughters, siblings, nieces, nephews, parents and now grandchildren to participate in the 5K event. The weather and the company dictate the intensity of the race which criss-crosses the golf course often covered with new snow. I have run it with my daughters, walked it with my mother, and pushed my granddaughter in a stroller, all the while chatting with friends and neighbors who also make this a part of their Thanksgiving tradition.

It is my favorite event of the year because it’s not just a race, it’s a happening. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the Holiday, move the body, and get ready for the traditional Thanksgiving meal later in the day. Yes, there are age group and overall winners of this event, but each year as we all gather after the race for some after-race goodies and conversation, I know that we are all winners. It is the perfect opportunity to celebrate this holiday that is all about gratitude. Even during these tough times, we are so lucky and so grateful – grateful for friends, for family, and for our good health that allows us to feel so alive!

This year we hope that you can find your own "Turkey Trot" to participate in (see the list of Colorado Turkey Trots below), or just take a walk around the block with family to keep the body moving!

Dave and I and the crew at HealthStyles Exercise Equipment wish you the very best Thanksgiving ever, and we thank you for your continued support.

In Health,

Jeanne Sheriff
Owner, HealthStyles Exercise Equipment

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On December 25th, 2008, Ben Davis decided to get his life together. He weighed 360 pounds and was a miserable person. Then he started jogging….

Things were much less complicated 30 years ago when I was a high school athlete just learning the basics of running. The science of running was just getting started back then and knowledge was somewhat limited. Today there are many dedicated researchers, scientists and coaches that are constantly refining training methods. Stretching and flexibility is one of the fields that have grown more complex in recent years.

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Runner’s love to run. Warm up and cool down routines aren’t usually high on a distance runners priority list. Even though warming up and cooling down isn’t the most enjoyable part of running training a proper warm up and cool down is a necessary part of your training program.

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Spring in Colorado is always filled with uncertainly when it comes to the weather, but this year has been especially unpredictable and frustrating! We are all ready to get outdoors and enjoy the typically beautiful Colorado weather. However, this spring many of us have spent more time than expected working out indoors due to lots of cold snowy weather. It’s not all bad according to Rick Morris, author of Treadmill Training for Runners. Whether you are using your treadmill because the rain or cold keeps you indoors, or you just have time for a short morning workout at home, or you are running on a treadmill to do some specific speed or interval work, Rick has some pointers for making sure that your treadmill workout is simulating as closely as possible your outdoor training runs. (more…)